


Crescendo

by Mochapup12



Series: From Zero [2]
Category: Dramarama (Music Video), Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Angst, Banter, Crying, Terminal Illnesses, Time Travel, does that technically make this a coffee shop au?, everyone is sad, hugging in an alleyway and coming to terms with death, i don't think it does - Freeform, just straight up pain again lmao, minhyuk is a barista, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-16 04:08:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13046175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mochapup12/pseuds/Mochapup12
Summary: Minhyuk hadn't expected all of this when he had told the stranger in the cafe about the death of his childhood friend, Changkyun.  Then again, how was he supposed to know that the stranger was an infamous time traveler?  It wasn't like he'd asked.  'I'm a mysterious criminal' wasn't exactly the kind of thing that came up in casual conversation.Or, Minhyuk is impulsive and time travels to see his dead friend, only to find himself on the run from the government.





	Crescendo

**Author's Note:**

> quick warning before we jump into this, there are mentions of terminal illness, specifically cancer, and guns (even if it's a weird time gun and not a normal one.) neither are described in much detail, but if either of those things bother you, then read at your own discretion. thanks again to jenny for beta reading and then blowing up my phone with how sad it made it her - you're the real mvp. thanks for waiting for the next part of this, and thanks for reading!

“So you’re no longer a student, then?” The stranger’s voice was soft, like he was careful not to speak any louder than he had to in order to be heard. Minhyuk shook his head, a small, wistful smile in place as he thought back to his university days.

“No, unfortunately. I graduated almost three years ago. I miss it though, mostly because now I have to get my life together and figure out how to be an adult.” He replied, grinning when the stranger laughed a little. He was a regular customer at the cafe Minhyuk worked at, a tall, handsome young man that was likely around his own age, though he’d never asked. He didn’t even know the man’s name, but he came in often enough for his face to be familiar. Minhyuk talked to him whenever the cafe wasn’t overly busy, but had somehow learned nothing about him in all the conversations that they’d had. Not that he really minded; he tended to overshare enough for both of them.

“You seem to be doing all right.” The stranger said. Minhyuk shrugged.

“Yeah, I guess. It’s not really where I thought I’d be, but it’s not a bad gig considering I literally had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Still don’t, honestly,” He answered, looking up at the huge windows in front of the cafe and watching as people walked by in the bright afternoon sunshine. “I moved out here from Seoul after I graduated, hoping… honestly, I don’t know what I was thinking, but everything just felt like- like too much there, you know?” He looked back at the stranger, who was considering him with his head tilted slightly to the side.

“I think I know what you mean.” He said after a moment, sounding distant. The look on his face made him seem almost like he wasn’t really there, like his mind was somewhere far away from him physical body. It wasn’t quite the same way that Minhyuk was - he tended to live in the moment, never lost in his own head - but he still knew the restless look in the stranger’s eyes. They may have been very different (though he didn’t know for sure; after all, he didn’t even know his name), but he could tell that they felt the same regardless.

“I always loved how busy it was there because it was easy to lose yourself in it. You know, become just another face in the crowd. But then suddenly the school routine was over and I didn’t know what to do, and it started to feel more like all of that activity was just kind of dragging me along. I felt like I was drowning in it,” Minhyuk continued. “So I left, and came here hoping that things would be a little slower and I’d have enough breathing room to figure stuff out. It turned out okay, this job pays pretty well and I have a decent apartment. I… left a lot behind, though.” A face formed slowly in his mind, old memories and newer pain swirling into existence along with it.

“What do you mean?” The stranger asked, his voice even softer now like he could tell it was a sensitive subject. Minhyuk shook his head a little and gave him a crooked smile.

“Nah, you don’t want to hear my sob story. I’m sure I’ve bored you enough with all of this already.” He said, starting to stand up to go back to the counter.

“I can promise you that I don’t mind,” The stranger cut in, smiling reassuringly at him. “I enjoy hearing about other people’s lives - what they’ve been through tells me more about them than anything else could. Everyone has unhappy times. In my experience, it can help to talk about them, if you’re willing.”

Minhyuk stared at him for a moment, unsure how to respond to that. Coming from anyone else, he might have just made an excuse and moved on - who asked someone they didn’t know to share their life story with them? But something about the stranger had always been oddly comforting, like he was the kind of person that could be trusted with anything, especially to empathize and listen without judgement. Besides all of that, Minhyuk did like to talk to people, and the pain of thinking about it wasn’t quite so acute now that it had been a few months. So he sat back down and faced the stranger, biting his lip as he thought about where to begin.

“Um, ok. So I grew up in Seoul, right? Lived my whole life there. Even when I was in college, I didn’t have to live on campus or anything; I was close enough to home that I could stay with my parents. That meant that I had a lot of people around me that were there my whole life. Especially my friend Changkyun.” Minhyuk paused for a moment. It wasn’t like him to think so much before he spoke - the words were usually out of his mouth faster than his brain could keep up - but it felt wrong to just blurt out the whole story without a little bit of care. “We were friends even when we were little. I met him when I was five and he was three. I didn’t want to be friends with him at first because he was younger than me, but we got along really well so our parents kept taking us to see each other.

He lived in the same building as me, so we went to all of the same schools and hung out together a lot growing up. He was always one of my best friends even though I was a couple years ahead of him. Once I graduated high school, we drifted apart a little bit - I had new friends in college, and I was home less often even though I still lived there. We still talked, but it wasn’t really the same. If we’d been as close then as we were before, maybe I would have stayed.

But he went to a different college and wound up living away from home, and when I graduated we’d pretty much stopped talking. My parents were the only tie I had left in Seoul and they didn’t want me to leave, but they agreed to let me go after a while. I’d been here for almost two years when they called to tell me that he had been sick for a while, and they were sorry that they hadn’t told me until it was too late. They caught it early, so it wasn’t supposed to be a big deal and he didn’t want them to worry me. But then it got worse, and by the time I knew about it, he was dead.”

Minhyuk looked down, unsure how to put into words how it had felt to be told secondhand and over the phone that his best childhood friend had died when he hadn’t even known that anything was wrong in the first place. His grief had taken the form of anger for a while, first at his and Changkyun’s parents for not telling him sooner, then at Changkyun for not wanting them to. Eventually, he’d realized that he couldn’t really blame this on anyone and had managed to let go of it, but it still stung.

“I’m sorry. It’s not fair that you had to find out like that.” The stranger’s voice broke through his thoughts, and he looked up to meet his eyes. His face was serious now, but the depth of sorrow in his gaze surprised Minhyuk a bit. He seemed genuinely sad, like he could feel everything that Minhyuk had gone through.

“Yeah, well,” Minhyuk started, leaning back in his seat, “it’s in the past now. There’s nothing I can do to change it, so there’s no use dwelling on it. It just would have been nice to have seen him again one last time, or, y’know, been able to say goodbye.” He stood up, nodding at a woman who had just walked in to let her know he’d seen her. “Um, thanks for listening. I haven’t really… talked about that with anyone yet. Sorry if I bummed you out or anything.” He turned to walk back to the counter before the stranger could reply, his head buzzing with grief all over again but with slightly less weight on his shoulders. It had felt good to talk about it for once, but the middle of his shift wasn’t exactly the most ideal time to try to sort through his feelings again.

He put on his usual smile to take the woman’s order, letting the routine of it take over and push back his thoughts of Changkyun. Putting her order into the computer, he decided he could worry about feeling sad again after his shift was over - really, he shouldn’t have even talked to the stranger for so long, he had things to do.

He managed to throw himself into focusing on his job for a little while, shoving all of the sadness to the back of his mind and greeting people with the same enthusiasm he normally had. It worked, until he looked up with a grin at the sound of the little bell on the door jingling, expecting to see another customer but instead watching the tall figure of the stranger disappear into the busy street outside. He watched him go, feeling strangely disappointed. A few seconds later, he glanced over at the table the stranger had been sitting at to see a watch lying neatly in the middle of it, almost as if it had been left purposefully. But why would he have done that?

Promising the next customer that he’d be back with them in just a minute, he hurried to the table and grabbed the watch, running to the door and looking around to try to find the stranger, although something told him that he was already gone. He gave up after a few minutes - the stranger was tall enough that he stood out a bit in a crowd. It was definitely too late.

Confused, Minhyuk looked down at the watch. He’d noticed the stranger wearing one, but he’d thought that it had looked different. It had stood out to him because he hadn’t been able to see an actual time on it, only what looked like the year, which didn’t make any sense. This one was the same, but the band was silver instead of gold and had fewer markings on its face - the other had had more gears and dials visible through the glass, as well as extra buttons on one side. Where had it come from? And why would the stranger have left it there like that, lying perfectly in the middle of the table?

He turned it over, already deciding to keep it behind the cafe counter in case the stranger came back for it, when he saw the letters engraved in the back. CHW was carved neatly into the metal, the lines small and thin and easy to overlook. He froze in place, feeling the cold shock of realization trickle down his spine like ice water. Everyone knew those initials, and more importantly, everyone knew what came with them. A chance to travel through time, to fix things for yourself if you were lucky, but also the risk of being hunted down by the government’s special police force - very few people could get away from them, and the only one who had managed it consistently was CHW himself. No one seemed to know anything about him for sure, just that he could create watches that allowed people to time hop and that he never seemed to stay in one time or place for long.

Shaking a little, Minhyuk slipped the watch into his pocket and turned to walk back into the cafe, trying to ignore the pounding of his heartbeat in his ears. Questions rushed rapid-fire through his mind, and he wished that he’d thought to ask the stranger for his name. Could that really have been CHW? One thought rose to the surface, and he swallowed hard against a sudden lump in his throat. This could be his chance. What if he could see Changkyun again?

 

~

 

Minhyuk would be the first to admit that he could be rather impulsive, but not being able to wait until he even got home to try out the watch was a new low even for him. It had been all he could think about as he closed down the cafe that evening, and as he walked to the bus stop he pulled it out of his pocket and turned it over and over absently as his mind raced. Sitting still on the bench at the stop was practically torture; it felt like his whole body was buzzing with electricity, every single nerve ending on fire with anticipation and excitement and fear. Eventually, he got tired of standing up every few minutes to pace nervously only to sit back down and try to force himself to relax. It was already late, and the bus stop was in an emptier part of the city - there was no one around to see him, and the bus wouldn’t come for at least another ten minutes. There couldn’t be any harm in trying it out now, could there?

He fiddled with the dials on the side of the watch, throwing glances over his shoulder every so often as he tried to figure out how it worked. He was almost positive that no one was there to see it, but that didn’t stop anxiety from rising up in his chest as he finally managed to turn back the year with a slight click. People had been caught trying to time-hop in safer places before.

Taking a deep breath and looking around one last time, he turned back the year again and saw the number 2015 staring back at him. Two years was all he needed - from what he’d heard, Changkyun hadn’t been sick then. It had been a sudden onset at the beginning of 2016, and had worsened more quickly than anyone had thought that it would. There was probably a way to change months, weeks, days, even minutes on the watch, but he wasn’t sure how - he was also a little worried that trying to change too much on an extremely powerful device that he didn’t quite know how to use could end in disaster.

Minhyuk let his thumb hover over a small button on the side of the watch, hoping that it was the right one and feeling his hands shaking slightly as he worked up the courage to go through with it. Squeezing his eyes shut, he thought of the way Changkyun’s face had always lit up to see him when they were kids and imagined that same expression now, a brilliant smile to welcome back his old friend. That was all the encouragement he needed. He pressed down on the button, and immediately the ground vanished out from under him.

For a split second he couldn’t feel anything. All of his senses seemed to have shut off suddenly, and he felt a sharp stab of panic in his chest when he opened his eyes to nothing but a black void. Then his feet hit pavement, he blinked, and suddenly he could breathe again as he stared at the new setting around him. It wasn’t nighttime anymore; apparently the watch made adjustments of its own. And if the fact that he had no idea where he was was any indication, it affected distance too.

It looked almost like a labyrinth of alleyways, walls stretching up on all sides with openings and turns in seemingly random places. A thin stripe of blue sky was visible up above, but he couldn’t see much more than that. The concrete under his shoes was worn and cracked, and he could only hear the wind rushing through the network of thin, winding paths. It was the back-alley underside of a city, that much he was sure of, but it wasn’t one that he knew. He’d spent enough times wandering around the ones in Seoul with Changkyun to know what those looked like.

He took a few uncertain steps forward, his head still reeling slightly from the sudden jump, and looked around for street signs, people, anything that would give any indication of where (and when) he was. The walls around him provided no answer, only the occasional graffiti and peeling paint. He was about to pick a direction and just start walking in it until he wound up somewhere when he heard voices from around a corner.

“Hello?” He called out, walking towards the sound. In retrospect, this may not have been his smartest move, but he would later chalk it up to the disorientation of time travel. He rounded the corner expecting to see regular people, if only the kind that hung out in otherwise deserted alleyways, but was instead greeted by the sight of three men in black suits walking towards him with a terrifying amount of purpose.

Minhyuk backtracked so fast that he stumbled slightly, panic flashing through his mind. They had to be the police - the ones from his time. He didn’t know how they’d found him so quickly, but he couldn’t let them catch him, especially not before he’d even found Changkyun. His heart was in his throat as he whipped around, searching desperately for a way to escape.  
He was seconds away from either taking off and hoping for the best or just giving up completely when a hand closed around his wrist and dragged him harshly into a tiny side alleyway. The panic in his chest flared even higher and he let out a startled yelp, but he let himself be pulled along anyway, more out of shock than anything else. His feet moved along almost automatically, and he could hear the men shouting from somewhere behind him. He decided that it was probably in his best interests to just run for now and ask questions later - whoever this was obviously wasn’t trying to turn him over.

Minhyuk let his mysterious saviour drag him along, racing around corners and tearing down straightaways until he couldn’t hear the footsteps of the agents anymore. Still they ran, until his breath was harsh in his throat and his legs ached. It was then that the other turned to look back at him, a hint of a familiar smile on his face before he turned away again, and Minhyuk’s heart dropped.

He stumbled, nearly falling, and Changkyun pulled at their already intertwined hands to steady him, finally coming to a stop.

“Whoa, you good?” Changkyun’s voice was exactly the same as he remembered, possibly even deeper than it had used to be. Minhyuk just stared at him for a moment, vision blurring as tears threatened to fall. He took a deep, shaky breath as Changkyun looked at him, concerned. “Hey, what’s wrong? I know it’s been a while, but we just saw each other a few months ago, remember? You came home for your mom’s birthday?” Minhyuk shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut and wiping away the tears that streaked down his cheeks. A bitter laugh bubbled up in his throat. Of course it had only been a few months for him; in this time, Changkyun would have no idea. He probably didn’t even know that he was sick yet.

“I-I’m fine,” He mumbled after a moment. “It’s just… really good to see you.” Changkyun smiled at him, bright and genuine, and Minhyuk felt like someone had lifted a weight from his shoulders that he didn’t know he’d been holding. He rubbed the back of his hand over his eyes to catch the last of the tears as Changkyun sat down against the wall of the alley they’d bolted into.

“Who were those guys? And when did you get to Daegu? You should’ve told me you coming, you’re lucky I was out here today.” Changkyun said, turning to look at Minhyuk as he sat down next to him.

“Oh, so we’re in Daegu?” Minhyuk asked. Changkyun gave him a strange look.

“Uh, yeah? How would you not know that? We’re not far from the university I go to, I come out here all the time just to walk. But back to my first question, who were those guys?” 

“It’s a long story. And I’m honestly not sure you’d believe me if I told you.” Minhyuk answered, staring at the watch as he turned it over in his hands. He wasn’t sure what to say - should he tell Changkyun about his cancer, about the time warp, about how for the last few months Minhyuk had done nothing but wish that they’d stayed closer as they grew up? He had a right to know, but was it Minhyuk’s place to tell him?

“Try me,” Changkyun said, and Minhyuk could hear the smile in his voice. “And while you’re at it, when did you change your hair? It looked good bleached, but I like the black more.” He reached up to run his fingers through Minhyuk’s hair, which had been back to its natural black for nearly a year and a half. Of course, he thought, Changkyun wouldn’t know that. It had still been bleached that last time he had come home.

“Uh, it was… a while ago now. Look, I’m gonna tell you everything, but I need you to listen to all of it before you say anything, okay? And I promise it’s all true, I’m not crazy.” Changkyun’s expression went from confused to serious as Minhyuk talked, and he nodded, his eyes full of questions but willing to trust his friend to answer them.

Minhyuk opened his mouth to start to explain everything when Changkyun’s eyes widened.

“Okay wait, hold that thought. Behind you.” He said, jumping to his feet. Minhyuk spun around to look even though he was fairly certain that he already knew what it would be - sure enough, the same three men from earlier were back, standing at the mouth of the alley. One of them was holding a strange-looking gun; Minhyuk felt his heart pounding at the sight. They wouldn’t kill him, would they?

“Minhyuk, come on!” Changkyun’s voice broke through his fear and he looked up to see his friend holding a hand out to him. He grabbed it and Changkyun pulled him to his feet, then took off running again with Minhyuk close behind him.

They ran even farther than before, twisting and turning through a maze of back streets. Changkyun seemed to know where he was going, so Minhyuk let him lead the way, cutting through narrow alleys and jumping over fences as they went. They didn’t stop until they had put a great deal of distance between them and the police, at which point Changkyun pulled him into a side passage and down behind a dumpster so that they couldn’t be seen from the main road.

“Just like old times, huh? Who did you piss off this time?” Changkyun asked, a bold grin on face. Minhyuk raised an eyebrow at him, breathing hard.

“I think we remember ‘old times’ a little differently.” He answered dryly. Changkyun laughed, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes as tried to catch his breath.

“Well, the weird cops are definitely new. We never had trouble with the law, but do you remember that time we accidentally stumbled into a drug deal back in Seoul? I thought for sure we were gonna die that day, but we ran fast enough that they couldn’t catch us.” Changkyun’s voice was warm with nostalgia, and despite the terror he’d felt at the time, Minhyuk smiled a little at the memory. It hadn’t been one of their finest moments, but they’d gotten out just fine and laughed about it later.

“How could I forget? You nearly got us killed that day.” Minhyuk teased, grinning at Changkyun, who scoffed.

“I nearly got us killed? I’m sorry, who wanted to go running around and exploring in an area we’d never been to that day? I seem to remember that it was you.” Changkyun responded. Minhyuk rolled his eyes, but shrugged in defeat.

“Okay, fine, so maybe it was my fault a little bit.” Changkyun shook his head, chuckling. Minhyuk’s chest ached with the easiness and familiarity of it all, their old banter coming back like they’d never been apart. He’d missed this, missed their friendship, more than he’d realized until it was too late.

“Are you gonna keep staring at me like a loser or are you gonna finally explain what’s going on?” Changkyun finally asked, and Minhyuk flushed red when he realized that he had, in fact, been staring while lost in his thoughts.

“Oh, uh, sorry,” He started eloquently, and Changkyun laughed again. “Okay. So like I told you, wait until I’m done to ask questions. I know it’s a lot, but we might not have much time before they find us again.” Changkyun nodded, his smile fading a little at the serious tone in Minhyuk’s voice.

“Okay. Got it. You always used to say weird stuff when we were growing up though, so I’m sure that whatever you have to say, I can handle.” Changkyun said. Minhyuk almost laughed at that.

“Alright, well, here goes - those guys are after me because I illegally time-hopped to come see you.” The words left his mouth in a rush, and he winced a little at the sudden look on Changkyun’s face.

“Wait, you what?” His voice was loud and incredulous, and Minhyuk immediately covered his mouth with one hand.

“Shh, do you want them to find us?” He asked in a whisper. Changkyun stared daggers at him, but slowly shook his head. As soon as Minhyuk removed his hand, Changkyun started to speak, but Minhyuk cut him off. “No, you promised to wait until I was done. Please just let me explain everything.” Changkyun frowned at him, but gestured for him to continue.

“Okay, so,” Minhyuk started slowly, thinking about what he could possibly say to explain to Changkyun that he was going to die without freaking him out. “Do you remember a few years ago when people started hearing rumors about that rogue time traveler guy, CHW? The one that supposedly the whole government was after for violating the laws that they’d just made?” Changkyun nodded slowly, brows furrowed at him. “Well, he’s real. And I’m pretty sure that I met him. I’m not… I’m not from this time, Changkyun, I’m from 2017. He came into the cafe that I work at and I talked to him without knowing who he was, and then he left behind this watch and I think it was on purpose. I think he wanted me to use it.” He paused, staring at Changkyun, whose expression was unreadable.

“You work at a cafe?” Changkyun finally asked. Minhyuk blinked at him.

“That’s your takeaway from this? I’m in trouble with the government for illegal time traveling with the help of a criminal, and you’re asking about my job?” He responded. Changkyun shrugged.

“Sorry, you just don’t strike me as the barista type. So why would this guy leave you a watch? And why come here of all places if you could have gone literally anywhere else at any other time?” He asked. Minhyuk looked down at the ground, unsure how to answer.

“Um. That’s the thing. I think that the reason he left the watch for me in the first place was because I told him that I missed someone, and that I wished I could have spent more time with them, but they were, um, dead. So.” He stuttered nervously.

“Wait, who? Did someone from home die?” Changkyun suddenly sounded concerned, and Minhyuk’s throat was dry as he avoided his friend’s gaze.

“Kyunnie…” He started, trailing off. Changkyun stiffened suddenly beside him. Several moments passed before he spoke.

“How?” His voice was unsettlingly calm. Minhyuk felt tears welling up in his eyes again.

“You got sick. Cancer, I don’t know what kind though. They never told me. I didn’t even know anything was wrong until my parents called and told me you were dead,” His voice sounded harsh even in his own ears, and he put an apologetic hand on Changkyun’s shoulder when he flinched slightly. “I’m sorry Kyunnie, but I wanted to see you again and I thought that you deserved to know. I never got to see you before it happened, so I wanted to… I don’t know, get closure? I didn’t realize how much I missed you until you were gone, and then there was nothing I could do.” Changkyun was completely silent for a long moment, staring down at the ground and refusing to meet Minhyuk’s eyes. It was all Minhyuk could do to keep a comforting arm around his shoulders; he knew it had to be a lot to take in. When he finally looked up, his face was surprisingly blank.

“You said that you didn’t know. Why?” He asked, a slight tremble in his voice the only sign of the emotional turmoil within. Minhyuk took a deep breath, tears threatening to fall.  
“My parents said that you didn’t want to worry me. They caught it early, so it wasn’t supposed to be a big deal. They thought they could heal you. But then it got worse, way worse, and way too fast, and by the time anyone thought to let me know… it was already too late.” Minhyuk told him gently, voice breaking on the last syllable.

Changkyun sighed, letting his head fall back against the wall behind him; Minhyuk stayed silent, wiping away the tears that had started to slip down his cheeks. He wished that he could have given his friend better news, but he deserved to know. At least this way he’d be prepared.

Minhyuk jumped slightly at the feeling of Changkyun’s thumb against his face, gently wiping away his tears. He opened his eyes to see Changkyun smiling softly at him with tears glistening in his own eyes.

“Hey, it’s not worth crying over. Knowing you, you’ve already done plenty of it anyway. I can handle this, and I’m here right now. It’s okay.” His voice was gentle and reassuring, and that was all it took to make Minhyuk cry even more. He buried his face in Changkyun’s shoulder, throwing his arms around his friend and hiccuping slightly as he tried to stifle his sobs. Changkyun returned the hug, and Minhyuk could feel him shaking as his arms wrapped around Minhyuk’s back.

“W-why are you the one comforting me? I feel like it should be the other way around.” Minhyuk mumbled, sniffling quietly. He felt more than heard Changkyun laugh.

“Well, you’ve always been kind of a crybaby.” He responded, giggling when Minhyuk punched his shoulder with no real effort behind it.

“I’m just surprised you believed me so fast. I thought I’d have to try to convince you.” Minhyuk confessed, pulling back to look at him. Changkyun ran the back of his hand across his eyes before responding.

“I mean, it’s definitely pretty crazy. But I don’t think even you could make something like this up. I’ve never seen you this scared before, and you’re a shitty actor. Plus the watch, and those guys after you… And now that I’m looking for it, you do look a little older. It’s not just the hair.” He finally said.

“Are you trying to say I look old?” Minhyuk demanded, smiling through his tears. Laughing again, Changkyun shrugged.

“Well, if the shoe fits.” Minhyuk shoved him playfully, the ache in his chest subsiding a bit as the tension began to fade. He really had missed this, more than he’d realized.

It was then that he caught sight of a figure at the end of the alleyway.

“Changkyun, they’re back,” He hissed, watching his friend whip around to look with wide eyes. “We’ve gotta go, we can run for it.” Changkyun shook his head.

“No, it’s too late, they’re at the other end too.” Minhyuk’s heart sank as he turned to see the other two agents walking purposefully towards them. He faced his friend again, frustration welling up. He’d only just found him, just started to reconnect, why couldn’t he have this? Suddenly, a thought occurred to him and he grabbed Changkyun’s hands.

“Come back with me.” He said. Changkyun blinked at him, confused.

“What?”

“I said come with me. The watch, it can get us out of here. Maybe we can get you better help in 2017.” Minhyuk replied in a rush, already reaching for the watch and spinning the year dial forward with shaking hands.

“Can it take two people?” Changkyun asked. Minhyuk shook his head in frustration.

“I don’t know, but we have to try. Just hold on to me.” He held out a hand, and after a tense moment, Changkyun took it - right as the men came to a stop in front of them. Minhyuk looked up into the barrel of the gun.

“Drop the watch.” The middle agent said, voice deep and gruff. Minhyuk’s heart was pounding, adrenaline racing through his veins as he fumbled with the buttons on the watch. It wasn’t enough, he needed more time -

“Minhyuk.” Changkyun’s voice was tense, quietly terrified, like he was seeking reassurance that Minhyuk could get them out of this.

“I told you to drop the watch. We’re sending you back to your time, with or without it. You have three seconds.” The agent spoke again, leveling the gun at the watch. Changkyun’s fingers were almost impossibly tight around his own. Minhyuk squeezed his hand, hoping against hope that when they sent him back he could drag Changkyun with him. Trembling, he tried to spin the dial on the watch again. It was so close, if he could just get it to 2017…

“This is your last warning. Don’t try to escape, this gun is faster than your watch.” Minhyuk felt Changkyun flinch at the agent’s harsh words.

“Changkyunnie, I love you. Don’t forget that, no matter long it’s been.” Minhyuk whispered, fingers hovering over the button that would send him back but knowing that it wouldn’t be enough, not now.

“I-”

The agent fired.

Minhyuk felt Changkyun’s hand torn from his grasp, his fist closing on empty air as his heart clenched. The world spun around him, and when his feet slammed into the pavement again, he opened his eyes to see the bus stop through eyes still blurry with tears. He blinked them away and looked down at the watch, his heart sinking. The glass surface was shattered, a round hole where he supposed the agent had hit it. The mechanisms inside seemed to be mostly intact, but the year was frozen on 2015, and when he tried to turn the dial he heard hollow clicking and nothing moved. The watch was broken. It was over. He stood, frozen, on the sidewalk, staring up at the sky and letting the tears fall as the last warmth from the feeling of Changkyun’s hand in his faded.

 

~

 

Several weeks passed and no mysterious agents showed up to arrest him, so Minhyuk decided to assume that sending him back with no way to time hop again was their punishment and that he wasn’t in trouble with anyone else. He resumed his life, working at the cafe, sometimes accepting his coworkers’ invitations to go out, mostly keeping to himself, but he couldn’t forget everything that had happened. As he fell back into his routine, he hoped that one day the stranger, CHW, would come back to the cafe. Maybe then he could get some answers.

About a month afterwards, a package arrived with a letter from his parents. Evidently, Changkyun’s parents had found it while cleaning out his room and had given it to them. It had been addressed to him.

Inside was a small box with a note taped to the top. All it said was:

Minhyuk -  
I love you too.  
\- Kyunnie

He’d opened the box to find a small stuffed bear with a blue ribbon tied to its arm. It had been his gift to Changkyun on his seventh birthday. He spent hours that night holding onto it, even after the tears had stopped, and imagining that it still smelled like him.

Over time, he started to lose hope that he would ever find a way to try again - he’d resolved to go back for Changkyun as he stood at the bus stop that night. But time and fate are funny things, and when he looked up from the cafe counter one day at the sound of the bell on the door, he was greeted by the smiling face of the stranger. He very nearly dropped the mug that he was holding, setting it down with shaky hands and rushing through the next few orders. Finally, he dropped into the seat opposite the stranger and opened with no preamble.

“We need to talk. Who are you exactly, and how can I fix this?” He asked bluntly. The stranger gave him a small, sad smile.

“My name is Chae Hyungwon. And time fixes everything, but not perfectly. What do you need?”

**Author's Note:**

> an: i'm sure minhyuk isn't actually a shitty actor. also i'm sorry.
> 
> thanks again for reading, and as always please leave a comment if you have the time, I really love getting them (aka i'm an attention whore and any positive validation from strangers makes me super happy.) i hope y'all like it, even if it was "rip ur goddamn heart out shit" as put by my wonderful beta reader.
> 
> as always, follow me on twitter @stardustjunhui if you want to come yell at me about this or get occasional updates about what i'm writing or just want to see me yell every time a group that I like does anything. there will be two more parts to the series, and hopefully the next one will be up a little faster (it's hoseok and hyunwoo, get ready to cry.) thanks again for reading, and have great day!


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